


Geology

by CrashKeys



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Drabble, Gen, Metaphors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 10:46:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19105534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrashKeys/pseuds/CrashKeys
Summary: Ned Chicane was a lot of things. A coward, a hypocrite, a thief. And now he's never coming back.





	Geology

**Author's Note:**

> Hi I'm on mobile so adding tags is really hard and I just want to say that there is a noose mention. It's a metaphor but just to be safe!

Ned Chicane was a hypocrite. 

A showman for the exhibits of the Cryptonomica, all while announcing his disbelief in anything supernatural. Victoria called it fate for them to meet, and Ned called it a place to stay.

He grew to love it, of course. The businessman inside him showed through the layers of lies he covered himself with after years of thievery. Ned would forever pass on having children, but the Cyrptonomica became his baby. He tried to guide Victoria towards capitalizing on a tourist vision for it, but she never saw the flair the same as he did. It was when she passed away that Ned took control of his vision.

It was the first time in years he felt he had control over his life. Like a rope dangling off a cliffside, he clutched onto it to climb the cliff of life. 

After the botched break-in, all he could think about was how delicate life was. He didn't believe that everything happens for a reason, but when that house burned he wanted desperately to believe it somehow wasn't his fault.

_ He wanted to believe he hadn't destroyed a family with fire and then left his partner to dance with the reaper. _

The control he felt over his life from managing the Cyrptonomica slipped when he met Barclay in the woods. See an abomination for the first time, the monstrous mix of savage beasts and black ooze , Ned begged to be told he was dreaming. The sensational stories he sang at the Cyptonomica became ironies that hung over him.

When he never woke up from the supposed dream, Ned found a new rope sway from the cliff. One made of magic, pine trees, and hope.

_ He didn't realize it was wrapping itself around his neck.  _

He was just an acquaintance to those in the Pineguard, yet he found a growing determination to protect Aubrey and Duck. After the first abomination was taken care of, Ned felt like they had been friends for years. He felt he would lose everything if he lost one of them.

Duck had spent decades running away from fate. When Ned reunited him with Beacon, Ned saw strength in Duck's eyes that had been vacant for all the years Ned knew him. Duck trained and even when his natural armor left him, he still ran towards danger. Or well, skateboarded towards it.

Aubrey was...energized. Kepler was a quiet town, and even the geeks that the Cryptonomica drew in were usually the quiet type. Her optimism and joy spread like the fires she made. Always a smile, and when things were going rough, her eyes were fierce and stubborn.

And then, 2 abominations later, Ned lost Aubrey. And he knew,  _ he knew _ it was coming. Ever since the hospital room, the sickening realization that it was his fault. He, the crooked man in the Pineguard, had destroyed Aubrey's life.

He hated himself. He wished the shapeshifter had waited just a bit longer before rearing its ugly face. He needed time to think of what to say to Aubrey, but he lost it. His past caught up to him and trapped him in a corner.

It was only fair that Aubrey be the one to burn the ropes that kept him from falling off the cliff and into the abyss.

Aubrey's fires were once something he admired, gazed upon with awe at how strong she was. She was a skilled magician with a heart of gold, and real magic came naturally to her. The same flames now burned him, and he had nothing. 

His old life stared at him hideously, reaching over the edge of the cliff with a blood-stained, rotted hand. Ned was resigned to grab that hand and return to his dark days of lying and thievery.

But the voice that had whispered "protect them" before was there again. Ever incessant in his mind, and reminding him there was only one option for him. This time he wouldn't run. He would make things right by Aubrey. By Duck. Even get revenge for Boyd.

The rope that Aubrey had burned reformed in front of his eyes. Frayed at its edges, and swaying delicately.

_ And still, it wraps around his neck. _

Ned Chicane was a lot of things. A hypocrite, a liar, and a thief. He was a coward at his core, but now was the time to face himself. Nothing happens for a reason, yet he knew someone called Fate was guiding him.

He drove to Amnesty lodge, ignoring the sinking he felt as he waited impatiently in the traffic. Somewhere in his fragile heart, he knew they were all in this shapeshifter's endgame. And he didn't know where he would be at the end of it, and if he would even make it there.

And that's why he wrote the letters. A final testament to own up to his devils. Not a plea for forgiveness. He was a bad guy and there was no hope to change those sins. It was a simple note of thanks. To Aubrey who he wronged so horribly, and even so she decided to spare him. And to Duck, who inspired him to stay strong and face destiny, even when you're just a normal guy.

_ A goodbye to his friends he loved so much. _

At the gate, a crowd gathered and stared at the stone structure in disbelief. He donned the mask of liar once more in a feeble attempt to remedy the situation. Some Hornets and civilians left, but the crowd was still too big. Too dangerous. The threat of war between two worlds hung heavy on Ned's shoulders.

Dani came crawling towards them from the forests. She was far gone amd feral, with blazing eyes and vicious teeth. The crowd was afraid. Ned shared their fear, but he pushed through it. He tried to calm them down. He couldn't let them hurt Dani. He would die before someone else close to him was hurt again.

_ Save this situation. _

Then a gun fired.

And he moved with just one thought in his mind.

_ 'This is what I deserve.' _

Ned let go of the ropes of life that he once clung so desperately too. It was all too late that he felt the rope of monster hunting, a second world of magic, and of the friends he made along the way, squeeze around his neck.

It squeezed tighter and tighter, until he realized he is laying down. The wind dances softly on his skin, though it feels more distance with each shallow breath he takes.

The stars above are shining bright, and the moon's light blankets him. 

_ "It's a beautiful night,"  _ he thinks.

And then Edmund Kelly Chicane thinks no more.

 

**Author's Note:**

> This is inspired by the song "Geology" by Barrie. It's a great listen and I recommend the whole album if you need a nice summer feel.  
> Thanks for reading! Constructive criticism welcome/kudos and comments appreciated!


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